Gogoi open to formation of a state reorganisation commission

Amid separate statehood agitation in his state, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said he was "open" to appointment of a second SRC but did not favour formation of Bodoland, saying, "We want to live together."

New Delhi: Amid separate statehood agitation in his state, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said he was "open" to appointment of a second state reorganisation commission (SRC) but did not favour formation of Bodoland, saying, "We want to live together."

Gogoi, who was at Parliament House to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also said protagonists of Gorkhaland and Bodoland joining hands is a "matter of concern".

On the formation of a second SRC, he told reporters, "Till today I have not discussed it. But I am open to it. I`m not opposing it. If some sort of formula is formed, I will welcome it."

Asked about the separate statehood demand by leaders from tribal districts, Gogoi said, "We want to live together. We want to live as a joint family.

"But still whatever their genuine demands are, we want to sort them out," he said.

To a query on protagonists of Gorkhaland and Bodoland coming together to intensify their agitations for statehood, he said, "I have seen reports. Definitely, it is a matter of concern."

The Chief Minister, however, said cases of both Gorkhaland and Bodoland should be dealt with "in a different manner."

"Both separate Gorkhaland and separate Bodoland demands have been going on for a long time. It is a separate issue. Both are separate. We have to consider both the cases in a different manner," he said.

He also said the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh has given a fresh spurt to the separate statehood agitation in his state.

"It has been quite a long time that they (Bodos) have been demanding... But of course, the moment it (Telangana) was announced, that triggered the agitation," Gogoi said.